There are many reasons to get the no annual fee Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card, especially as it has its best ever welcome bonus at the moment, of 50,000 points after spending $3,000 within three months. In conjunction with select other cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, those points can be converted into Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed for up to 1.5 cents each towards a travel purchase. A no annual fee card with a welcome bonus that can get you up to $750 worth of travel is almost unheard of.
Beyond that, the card is worth holding onto long term, as it offers up to 5x points on the first $25,000 spent annually on combined purchases at office supply stores, and on internet, cable, and phone services, as well as up to 2x points at restaurants and gas stations.
One other thing that strikes me as being quite generous about the Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card is that it offers primary collision damage waiver coverage for car rentals. Don’t get me wrong, there are several other cards offering similar coverage, but what impresses me here is that this is a no annual fee card offering the perk. Personally I can’t think of any other lucrative no annual fee business card that offers that kind of protection.
You’ll want to consult your cardmember agreement for the full terms associated with this, though here are a few things to be aware of regarding the Ink Cash’s primary collision damage waiver benefit:
- You must be paying for the rental with your card
- You must decline the collision damage waiver offered by the rental car company
- You must be renting for business purposes
- This is valid for most types of vehicles, not including off-road vehicles, sports cars, and trucks
- Rentals in Ireland, Israel, and Jamaica, aren’t eligible
- Collision damage waiver only covers damage to your car, and doesn’t cover damage to other peoples’ cars, or injuries, so it could still make sense to have other insurance
If you are a small business and want to minimize annual fees on your business cards while also getting some coverage for your car rental, the Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card is tough to beat.
Do note that there’s also the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card, which is the premium version of this card, and offers the same car rental coverage. The benefit with the Preferred is that it offers 3x points on travel (including car rentals), and also has no foreign transaction fees, making it even better for international rentals. There are lots of other perks to picking up the card, like a welcome bonus of 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points upon completing minimum spend, which I consider to be the best welcome bonus being offered by any card.
Personally I view these two cards as complements and not substitutes, so I think there’s potentially huge value in having both of them.
Speaking of Chase cards. I have the CSR. If my wife signs up for the Freedom, but does not have either of CSR or CSP, can she still transfer her points to me to be redeemed as UR?
@ Jesper — Yep, she sure can!
“Collision damage waiver only covers damage to your car, and doesn’t cover damage to other peoples’ cars, or injuries, so it could still make sense to have other insurance’
A lot of people miss this when they see that their card covers rental insurance. As far as I know, nobody covers liability.
My Ink card is Ink Bussiness PLus, does it have the same coverage? thanks
@ dannyD — Yep, it sure does!
Picture looks oddly familiar…
Shill
Having to rent for business purposes only kills this one for most people.
@JJ In most jurisdictions, including the US, the price of your rental includes a certain amount of liability coverage, by law (i.e. the minimum insurance you’re legally obligated to hold in order to put a car on the road). Credit card insurance is designed to replace the “CDW” coverage of the rental car itself, which is almost never included in base prices, except in some foreign countries.
I would expect the insurance carrier to investigate whether it was used on business purposes. That kills it for me.
@JJJ The UK Platinum Amex is the only card I’ve ever seen that includes liability.
There is coverage in Ireland now, I’ve confirmed it with Chase prior to my last couple trips and obtained their letter of eligibility stating so. I think this changed back 2 or 3 years ago.
@Dave, a quick google search shows me that may not be true.
“In California, state law specifically allows the rental agency to decline to provide liability insurance to customers. As a result, almost no rental car in California includes liability insurance–leaving you fully responsible for any harm you cause to third parties while driving a rental car. Even a small accident can leave you on the hook for thousands of dollars in property damage and tens of thousands of dollars in bodily injury; a larger accident can increase those numbers tenfold.”
In NJ, according to this:
http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/division_consumers/insurance/basicpolicy.shtml
Bodily Injury Liability
Coverage for claims and lawsuits by people injured as a result of an auto accident you cause
Coverage is not included
Property Damage Liability
$5,000 per accident
Personal Injury Protection
$15,000 per person, per accident
So be careful out there!